Trial begins for Allied Veterans alleged mastermind

SANFORD, Fla. -- Despite jury selection only taking a few days, the trial against a Jacksonvillelawyer is expected to takefour to six weeks.

Jury selection ended Wednesday. There are six people on the jury. Four of them are women, two are men. Opening arguments begin Thursday in this case. Kelly Mathis is charged with more than 200 counts of money laundering, racketeering, and lottery.

Mathis is one of 57 people who were arrested and charged in connection with the Allied Veterans of the World. Several other people arrested have made plea deals to avoid going to jail. In turn they will testify against Mathis.He insists that anyone who takes the stand will actually help his case and not hurt it.

The prosecutors say Mathis was the ringleader and knew the organization made $290 million. Only a small percentage of that was actually given to the vets.